1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image capturing apparatus and a control method thereof, and more particularly to an image capturing apparatus that provides a plurality of shooting settings adjusted according to the shooting environment of subjects as shooting modes in advance, and enables the user select a shooting mode when shooting images, and a control method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Image capturing apparatuses have a large number of user-settable items such as aperture, shutter speed, white balance, sensitivity and flash. Setting these items appropriately according to the states of various scenes not only requires knowledge and experience, but also requires great care. In view of this, image capturing apparatuses are known wherein shooting modes for particular scenes that have been associated with settings considered preferable to shoot the given scenes are provided in advance. Users can, by selecting a shooting mode appropriate for a scene to be shot, make settings suitable for the scene collectively in relation to a plurality of items. Specifically, for example, in a portrait mode, the aperture value is set to a small value so as to bring the subject to the forefront with the background blurred when the subject is shot. In a nightscape mode, the shutter speed is set slow and the flash is set to off, so that it is possible to take the shot without spoiling the atmosphere of the nightscape.
Furthermore, image capturing apparatuses that assist selection of a shooting mode appropriate for a scene are also known. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-274268 proposes a function that analyzes the state of a shooting environment and thereby limits selectable shooting modes, and allows the user to easily select a shooting mode suitable for the current shooting environment.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-171355 proposes an image capturing apparatus in which the shooting mode is switched to an underwater mode when the image capturing apparatus is installed into a waterproof case for underwater shooting and then the image capturing apparatus is started up with the use of a pseudo button provided in the case.
However, because the image capturing apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-274268 requires analysis of the shooting environment, there is a possibility that the processing load required for analysis may increase. In addition, the shooting mode that the user needs may not be included in the selection options, depending on the result of the analysis. Moreover, this patent document does not give special consideration to the order that selection options are listed.
In the case of the image capturing apparatus of Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-171355 in which the shooting mode is automatically switched by installing the image capturing apparatus into a case for enabling underwater shooting, the following possibilities can be considered when, for example, an underwater shooting mode is automatically selected. When a user shoots underwater, there is a possibility that the user might shoot images not only underwater but also on beach. If the user shoots images on the beach with the underwater shooting mode, optimal results may not be obtained, such as the color of shot images being different from the actual subject color. Accordingly, when shooting images on the beach with the image capturing apparatus installed in a case for enabling underwater shooting, the user has to perform operations such as taking the image capturing apparatus out of the case to switch the shooting mode, which makes it difficult for the user to easily switch the shooting mode.